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September 29, 2023

Updates & Upgrades!

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As we enter the final quarter of the year, businesses are gearing up for the busy holiday season. Whether it's AI-enhanced customer service or ad campaigns that resonate with shoppers, retailers are pulling out all the stops to get ahead in the game. Here's a roundup of this week's top stories in retail and e-commerce.

Amazon intensifies the AI race by committing to invest up to $4 billion in Anthropic.
BigCommerce enhances online B2B ordering and invoicing capabilities.
Google adjusts ad auctions to meet revenue goals, according to executives.
Create the perfect Google ads landing pages for e-commerce sellers.

The Amazon Corner

AI Race Update: Amazon Fuels AI Race with $4 Billion Investment in Anthropic

Photo Credit: REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo

The AI race is far from over! On Monday, Amazon.com announced its plan to invest up to $4 billion in cash into Anthropic, a prominent startup, as part of its strategy to stay competitive in the realm of artificial intelligence against emerging cloud rivals.

As part of the agreement, Amazon's employees and cloud customers will have the opportunity to access Anthropic's technology ahead of others, seamlessly integrating it into their businesses. Additionally, the San Francisco-based startup has made a commitment to primarily rely on Amazon's cloud services. This includes the utilization of proprietary chips purchased from the renowned online retailing and computing giant to train their future AI models.

Read the full story here...

The BIG Update: BigCommerce Improves Their Online B2B Ordering and Invoicing

Photo Credit: BIGCOMMERCE

BigCommerce is making strides in B2B e-commerce! The B2B Edition of the e-commerce technology vendor now includes the Invoice Portal, a valuable tool for invoice management and payment. One of the portal's clients, Doc Lane's Veterinary Pharmacy, has expressed how this new feature has contributed to the growth of their B2B customers' e-commerce activity.

The enhanced website not only offers a superior customer experience but also encompasses various capabilities such as:

Simplify the process of creating customer accounts
Find and order specific products
Submit reorder requests
Browse order history

Google's Revenue Game: Ad Prices Rise by Up to 5% in Advertising Auction Tweaks

Photo Credit: Yahoo! Finance

Google's latest ad auction adjustments are driving up costs for advertisers. Jerry Dischler, Google's vice president for advertising products, revealed that the company frequently makes adjustments to the auctions it employs for selling search ads. These auctions determine the placement of text and shopping promotions on the top of search results pages based on user queries. Dischler mentioned that these modifications can involve changes to ad costs or reserve pricing, which is the minimum spending required for an ad. Interestingly, even when these "tunings" have an impact on ad prices, Google typically does not communicate these changes to advertisers, as testified by Dischler.

More of this story here...

This Week's Featured Article

Create the Perfect Google Ads Landing Pages for E-commerce Sellers: Best Practices and Tips

As we gear up for Q4 and the holiday shopping season, optimizing your landing pages for Google ads is crucial. A well-crafted landing page can make all the difference between a potential customer converting into an actual sale or bouncing off your website. Here are some best practices and tips for creating effective landing pages that drive conversions...

A Little More

QUICK TIP

Try this. Set up a conversational AI chatbot for your e-commerce website. Not only does it make the shopping experience more interactive and convenient, but it also helps you gather valuable customer data and insights for future strategies.

FUN FACT

Approximately 50% of individuals express their inclination to make a purchase from a website's chatbot.

LISTEN UP

Shipping can be a complicated and costly process. On this 103rd episode of The E-Comm Show, Andrew interviews Tom Byun, Sendle’s North America President, to learn more about their innovative shipping solutions.

Tom will discuss how Sendle makes delivery easier for small businesses and startups with their carbon-neutral shipping solution, as well as the importance of having a sustainable shipping strategy to stay competitive in today’s market. Tune in to learn more about Sendle and how you can ship smarter and greener with them.

Watch the full episode below, or visit TheEcommShow.com for more.

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